Fish backbone removing machine



May 17, 1949. A. 1.. CHRISTIANSEN FISH BACKBONE REMOVING MACHINE Filed Nov. 8, 1943 .Jnv can-tar :Qn CITEW L, Chr'istz'ansc-m Patented May 17, 1949 IHSH BKEKBGNE REMBVINGFMHGHINE Andrew Lflhr-isfiansen, Willowbrook,=Calif...

'ApplicatimrNovember :5- Claims. .1

' present .vinvention relates :to: a. ".means a for rremoving the :backbones o'f fish.

One of the? --prmci1: al1iobiiects of thisinvention :is to: provide a'machinecof. thisiclass' which *will .-;easily, quickly; eiiectively-remoue' the: backbone of fishg'razmachine of this'classumrwmchfche zfish may be ieaisily'placed :or fed .ior the: purpose :of .dzhe alcove roperation, andrarzmachine-woi this class :in which :the various e severed .zportions: .of "the 1=fish .iaretejected' and: .so that' they "may be. easily separated.

.Another timportant nbziect oi itliisomvention-iis 1120 :provide: 1a? machine: of :this ic'lassx mherebycrfish .ofdifierent sizes, =:shapes, .samdzdesmztptionsmmay vhe readily 'Fhamiledc to rrem'ove "rathe 'iliaclrbones therefrom.

An important object also of this invention vis:;to -=proyideia"mach-inez.oi this'classiin whiclrthe whole :of itheibackbonezis uniformly removed from the head to the tail ends.

A .rurthier' important "subject or this: invention :ls :to :provide 11031 81 means .iorzgrippmg or-molding Atishufrom which'ithe :backbonesxrareto Khomemoved.

A still further important object of this inven- -.tion is :theeprovision otsimpie andi'efficient means in :a-machine'iof: this 612.55, iwherebyithe .tailxpor- .tions" of: the-fish are-centralizedginzitheasconveym', which carries thGTflSh .'long itudinal ly;=-so that'ithe :tail portions :thereof may x.:b-ecailig'ned with. the

,xheadpor'tions; towfacil'itate:1origitudinalrrculttin g-xof the. dish for 'the purpose :of the removal eiiithc libackb'one.

' ters' of reference ti-iereona which itornr acpartwof this application, "which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my vmachine?for removing l the backbones of i fish, ithe machine -being' shown diagrammatically sand .ezeilso l fragmentarily Fig. :2, iStaThBIIdL-HBVatiM thereof .Ei'g. 3. is .a longitudinalszsectional: iewxithereoi taken through tline .l3--.-3=..'of if ig. 11:; and,

Figs. 4* "HIHd.. 5ZBLI'-i :fragmentaryursectionaltwicws taken through'zlines"4-4;and25+5miFEig.$1.

My fish :machinaas gmeral lyidesmiibedraboce, -.consistseessentialiyzotawmmeyor smsfiorlazconvey- 8, I943, SerialNor509i342 (QLJ-Fi-M imea'nstB. iinsassociation 'with "the: conveyor; for .acntting; the fishzlongitudinally at the immediately copposite' sides of the: backbone, and completely izhroughtheiish, whereby the outer or edible sides bfthflfifihcmfiy be readily separated from :-the "backbone portion.

The conveyor-A-consists=-of a pair of axially spaceds aparta carrier discs I which .areqmounte'd Torr-an arbor-l this: arbor .being' rota-tablymounted 550111111315 3 carried on the frame 4. The discs imayseitherwbewseparately adjusitab'lyz mounted on mevarbor or, as 'shown in the drawings, they ;may :be ".held J-ors spaced .apart at their axial .portions by spacers 5, 1: and the .discs,. together with the spacers .therebetween, are secured against artial-"movement toand on the'arbor by nutsrii rat the: outer sides of .the discs.

'Ihe .fish, designated C, may be. :placed, :by any esluitablemeans, t-between the peripheral portions ..ofatheediscswith theirr'backs-downward or innermsost, and: with their head portions, from which the heads have been removed, foremost with rea-spectto 1711B? directionof movement :01 the rota- *MQILOf the discs. .Theperipheralwportions of the .discsare: flared outwardly, as indicated atl ;so thattheperipheral. portions diverge with respect ..tmeachvother from the-inner portions-0f TihQIdjSCS. my reasoniotsuch-fiared portions the-placing of the; fish in the. manner stated is facilitated.

The..discs are also slightly flexible or resilient .sothat thefishmay be yieldably held between ,the opposed discs, (particularly-for slightly varying..sizes .of fish.

.The.cuttingmeans B consists of a pairof axially aspaced apart cutter members in the. form of discs H. These are ..also mounted ..on an arbor l2. They may alsabe separatedhy spacers l.3..between the cutting discs arid..the.-cutting. discs may ..be secured to the arbor iZLby nuts. l4, located. .at the outer sides of the cuttingsdiscs.

'iThe. arbor 12 is mountedonjournals 15 which 1 arewalso; carried; by theiframe 4.

"Thecuttingedgesrof -the'ld'lscs H extexidinto the channel or space betweenthe carrier or conveyordiscs' 1 "and are'so arranged that they make continuous incisions'from' the head of the fish *to' thei'tail endat'the immediatelyopposite sides orthe backbone, 'ast'he conveyor A carries the fish. into the cuttingtdiscs.

Gn the frame is-ca-rried a conveyor 2 tier col.- lecting' arid' carrying-away theparts of "the cut fish. This "conveyor 2l='is located immediately below the carrier or conveyer A, and it may be directed iupwardly toward the discharge-end. as rshown.

The fish, from which the bones are to be removed, have tail portions which are thinner or narrower than the main back portions, and when the fish are held by the conveyor or carrier A, or between the two discs I, these tail portions are not gripped and held rigidly at the opposite sides by the opposed discs of the conveyor or carrier, and consequently these tail portions are permitted to move laterally to a considerable and varying extent. Such freedom to move laterally, that is, the lateral play of the tail portions, does not permit of uniform cutting of the fish at the immediate opposite sides of the backbone at such tail portions, but allows the cutters I I to cut into or cut off a portion of the back bone at the tail portions. I have therefore provided a tail centralizing means which is supported at the upper portion of the discs I of the conveyor or carrier and immediately in front of the cutters I I. Such centralizing means, as shown in the drawings, is supported on a bracket 26 mounted on the frame 4. This bracket, as shown, comprises separate bracket members which extend upwardly from the frame and are positioned at the opposite sides of the discs I. At the upper end of the bracket 26 is pivotally mounted one end of the centralizing member 21. This member is of inverted U-shaped cross-section, as shown best in Fig. 4. The free end of the member 21 consists merely of opposed plate portions or vanes 21, as shown in Fig. 5, I?

and these plate portions extend into the peripheral portion of carrier A or between the discs I thereof, in the path of the advancing fish. These free plate portions are also slightly resilient in order to yield slightly to the different widths of fish,

but they are normally spaced apart a distance equal to the approximate thickness of the tail portions of the fish. The upper portions of the plate portions are also inclined slightly toward each other, as shown in Fig. 5, in order to conform to some extent with the belly portions of the fish.

The upper portion of the bracket 26 is provided with an arm 28 through the end of which slidably extends an arcuate guide rod or bolt 29 which is pivotally connected at its lower end to the free end portion of the centralizing member 21. The member 2! is held in its low position by a nut 29 provided at the upper or free end of the bolt. Around the bolt 29 is positioned a compression spring Bil. This spring normally forces the free end of the centralizing member 2'! into the peripheral portion of the carrier or conveyor A.

As the fish are carried by the carrier or conveyor A toward the cutters II, with their head portions foremost, the free end of the centralizing member 21 may be easily raised against the compression of the spring 30, but as the fish are carried toward the cutters I I, the free end of the centralizing member 2'! will be forced downwardly by slight force of the compression spring 38, straddling the tail portion, and centralizing the same between the carrier discs I and causing the cutters II to cut the fish at the immediate opposite sides of the backbone.

For different widths and thicknesses of fish, the free end of the centralizing member 21 may be adjusted by means of the nut 29 In order to prevent the fish, which may have been cut as described, from passing continuously around with the conveyor A, or to prevent clogging of the space between the discs I, I have provided a deflector 3|, which may also be supported on the frame 4. One end 3| of the deflector extends toward the hub or axial portion of the carrier discs I and the other end 3| extends from between the carrier discs toward and adjacent to the belt conveyor 2 I. The portion of the deflector 3| between the carrier discs I extends at an acute angle with respect to the direction of movement of the carrier discs, thereby tending to eject the fish, or portions thereof, from between the carrier discs and direct the same towards the conveyor 2 I.

In association with the cutting means B is another defiector ll, one end of which is positioned between the cutting discs and the other end of which extends towards the conveyor 2|. The latter deflector facilitates the ejection of backbone portions which may be wedged between the cutting discs.

The spacers E between the carrier discs I permit the lateral adjustment or spacing of the latter to accommodate the fish of considerably different sizes. The spacers I3 between the cutting discs also permit the axial adjustment of the cutting discs relative to each other to accommodate various thicknesses of the backbone.

In the drawings, I have shown a belt 5| for rotating the arbor I2. (The cutters, of course, may be driven directly by a motor, if desired.) The arbor I2 is shown as connected by a suitable gearing to the arbor 2 for rotating the latter at a considerably slower speed than the cutter arbor.

As shown, the arbor I2 has a worm 52 which meshes with and drives a worm gear 53. This gear is connected by a shaft 54 to a worm 55 which meshes with and drives a worm gear 56, which is mounted on the arbor 2. No supports or housings are shown for the several worms and worm gears in order to facilitate the illustration.

The conveyor arbor 2 is also shown as connected by sprockets 5B and a chain 59 to one end of the conveyor 2|.

At a side of the frame 4 may be provided a bin or hopper ISI for holding the beheaded fish from which they may be fed by the operator into the moving channel between the discs I of the conveyor A.

My method of removing the backbones consists in placing and securing beheaded fish on their backs and feeding the same, while in such position, between cutting means spaced apart a distance of approximately the thickness of the backbone of the fish, and thereby cutting the fish longitudinally into three parts, the center of which contains the backbone, which is separated from the other parts of the fish.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions of my apparatus, and a particular method of separating the backbones of fish, I do not wish to be limited to the same, but desire to include in the scope of my invention the construction, combination, and arrangement of elements of my apparatus, substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a means of the class described, a conveyor comprising a pair of axially spaced apart discs having their peripheral edges diverging outwardly with respect to each other from the middle portion of the discs, said discs being adapted to receive therebetween and to hold fish on their backs, a cutting means comprising a pair of cutting members extending with their cutting edges between and spaced from said discs, and a deflector positioned between said discs and directed at an acute angle with respect to the direction of movement of the conveyor to facilitate ejection of fish therefrom.

2. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor having opposed walls for receiving and holding therebetween fish on their backs, a cutting means having spaced apart cutting members ex-- tending with their cutting edges into said conveyor and. spaced inwardly from the walls thereof, a second conveyor positioned below the first conveyor and extending in the direction of the movement of the upper portion of the latter, a deflector extending from the first conveyor toward the second conveyor, and another deflector extending from between the cutting members to ward the second conveyor.

3. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor comprising a pair of axially spaced apart resilient discs flared outwardly with respect to each other in their peripheral portions, said discs being inherently flexible and adapted yieldably to hold fish therebetween, and a cutting means extending between the discs for cutting the fish longitudinally.

4. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor having opposed walls for receiving and holding therebetween fish on their backs, a cutting means having spaced apart cutting members extending with their cutting edges into said conveyor and spaced inwardly from the walls thereof, and a fish centralizing means movably mounted above the conveyor and adapted to straddle the fish therein and centrally locate the tail portions of the fish between the opposite walls of the conveyor, the following end of the centralizing means having spaced apart resilient plate portions for engaging the opposite sides of the fish.

5. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor having opposed walls for receiving and holding therebetween fish on their backs, a cutting means having spaced apart cutting members extending with their cutting edges into said conveyor and spaced inwardly from the walls thereof, a fish centralizing means pivotally mounted at one end above the conveyor, the free end of the centralizing means being adapted to ride upon and straddle the fish therein and centrally locate the tail portions of the fish between the opposite walls of the conveyor, the free end of the centralizing means having spaced apart resilient plate portions for engaging the opposite sides of the fish, and a spring for forcing the free end of said means toward the conveyor and over the fish.

ANDREW L. CHRISTIANSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Humber N ame Date 462,903 Kane Nov. 10, 1891 753,722 Manula et a1 Mar. 1, 1904 1,134,529 Hauber Apr. 6, 1915 1,134,530 Hauber Apr. 6, 1915 1,331,932 Kloster Feb. 24, 1920 1,552,463 Barry Sept. 8, 1925 1,883,822 Reid et al Oct. 18, 1932 2,140,575 David et a1 Dec. 20, 1938 2,210,234 Durand Aug. 6, 1940 2,311,176 Hutton Feb, 16, 1943 2,321,086 Hutton June 8, 1943 

